Future Bike Dreamscape - 2018

Dreaming is dangerous - but also fun. What will you ride in 2018?

Posted by Philip Cavell

2018 Dreambike

There is going to be a rush to quality in 2018. Expect TITANIUM to be H-U-G-E!

Dare to Dream!

The cold weather, long nights and Vitamin-D deficit, is playing havoc with our future-bike dreamscape - we have progressed from gentle musing into full virtual reality role-play the closer we get to 2018!

Dreaming about the new bike you could be riding up and down Col or Dale in 2018, is an integral component of keeping mind and body on track as we go into xmas and new year. Having a goal in mind and a bike to achieve it on, is a powerful antidote to that extra portion of pudding or tumbler of port. Because January is here in a flash and then the countdown to the season starts to tick down. We love January because so many of our clients get up and get out early after xmas, laying the foundations to everything they want to achieve on a bike over the next twelve months. Every year it is fantastic to see discerning clients really early doors in the first days of the new year, when hardly anyone is around, getting their positions checked and dreams clicked into reality. It is our favourite time of year, when so much good work gets done. Here we pick our staff favourite bikes and adopted personas for 2018 to help fuel your (and our) dreams!

The Metricican - Barna

Ian Grenfell 001

Ian's beautiful Emonda SLR Disc

Ian Grenfell 003

With minimalist Project One Vapor Coat

Ian Grenfell 010

And Sram eTap

Trek Emonda SLR DISC - Chosen by Cyclefit Mechanic - Barna

Trek's Emonda has quite correctly appealed to men and women on a climbing mission since 2014. The numbers are inescapable and the ride reassuringly incomparable. The Emonda SLR is the living nightmare of custom carbon bike-builders. It is typically a couple of hundred grams lighter (at least) than a Parlee Z-Zero (800-975g), and comes in very useful and usable H1 and H2 geometry platforms. On top of that the spec and colour of the Emonda SLR can be fully tailored and customised through Trek's marvellous Project One programme. All wrapped up with the R&D spend of the industry's biggest player and supportive warranty programme.

The Emonda SLR Disc is a paradigm shift in terms of function, weight and performance. We easily built a 6.5kg Emonda SLR (size 56) Disc Project One with SRAM eTap. This means that you can hit the big mountains in all conditions with supreme confidence and below UCI weight!

  • Emonda SLR Frame weight - 665 grams - lightest in class
  • Run deep section carbons in any conditions
  • Perfect braking and tracking
  • Category leading stiffness
  • H1 & H2 Geometries
  • Trek Project One Customisation
  • Cyclefitted by the people who fitted Trek Factory Racing for four years!

The Hedonist - Phil

Passoni 7

David's exemplary Passoni Top Force

Passoni 9

With Campagnolo groupset

Passoni 5

And incredible thought and detailing

Passoni Top Force - Chosen by Cyclefit Director, Phil Cavell

Passoni is a luxury bike brand. Possibly the only luxury bicycle brand? We have known Sylvia Passoni for many years and we applaud and admire her dedication to style, taste and quality in ALL things. They don't need to hand-file all the welds on a Passoni for forty hours, to make a continuous billet of magic metal. But that would be to miss the point. There is intrinsic beauty in the thought, ethic and execution. These beautiful bicycles have been painstakingly hand-crafted in Milan for well over thirty years. Passoni were one of the first companies to spot the potential of a remarkable metal. Back in the day Passoni handmade bikes-in-disguise for discerning Italian Professional riders like Marco Pantani. Spool forward a couple of decades and the Top Force is their signature bike, that shares the genetic code of pro race bikes that runs through Passoni's DNA. It typifies everything that makes Passoni truly different to any other bicycle or bicycle company in the world. If you ride a Passoni you are necessarily part of a tiny self-selecting group of riders that wants incredible performance but demands exemplary good taste and distinction.

  • Made in Milan
  • Hand-filed welds
  • World-leading titanium torsional stiffness
  • Art gallery aesthetics
  • Custom made in reassuringly tiny numbers
  • The badge of great cyclery taste

Passoni Top Force

Passoni Top Force at Passoni

The Pragmatist - Jules

Landrace Sm

Designed by Cyclefit and made by Seven Cycles in Boston

Landrace Sm3

To cover any land, anywhere

Landrace Sm4

Clearances for cyclo-x tyres and mudguards

Landrace Limited Edition - Chosen by Cyclefit Director, Julian Wall

The Landrace Project has been a longtime in gestation. Every now and again our friends at Seven would give us a nudge to see how it was coming along. The clue is in the title. It is a vehicle to cover land. Period. More winter-friendly than an Open U.P. (i.e.mudguard clearances and braze-ons), more off-road friendly than a Trek Domane (bigger clearances) and yet better on the road than a Trek Boone. Essentially a road bike that is very happy to do duty on tracks, trails and muddy paths. The geometry is everything we have learnt designing hundreds of custom bikes over two decades. We have thoughtfully included all the little touches that think you will appreciate, even if you never know they are there. Like super-low bottom-bracket for stability and 44mm headtube for stiffness. Built in Boston by Seven Cycles from in-house double-butted USA milled titanium, this is a bike for a lifetime of hard miles. One to hand down to your children when you are done. The Pragmatists choice - here are the highlights:

  • 12mm thru-axle
  • Seven made from US milled double-butted titanium
  • Disc only
  • Cyclefit designed stock sizing
  • Clearances for 32c tyres and mudguards
  • Mudguard eyeletts

Cyclefit Landrace

The Aesthete - Jimmy

Xx Seat Clamp Pop 004 171212 092835

Internal seat-clamp, looks beautiful and saves weight

Evergreen Xx Pop 5 171212 092902

Titanium re imagined

Xx Tt

Seven XX Programme. The lightest in the world.

"We love the paired, stripped and honed aesthetic of the world's finest aerospace grade titanium, that has been freshly minted into a genuine world first."

Seven Evergreen SLX XX - Chosen by Cyclefit Technician, Jimmy Wilson

Jimmy Wilson is a multiple Seven owner. In fact most Seven owners end up with more than one! Half utilitarian rationalism and half Seven/Custom/Titanium uncontrollable addiction. One suspects. For a company that leads the world in titanium development and engineering, Seven are traditionally modest about what they have achieved. To the point that almost nobody knew that the XX Programme was coming. Seven's founder and R&D Head, Rob Vandermark, casually strolled out of his studio a few weeks ago with the blueprint for making the lightest titanium disc bike ever made! By opting for the XX Upgrade (£950) on a standard Seven Evergreen SL or SLX your bike will be 6-7 ounces (200 grams) lighter with no strength, ride or longevity implications! We love the paired, stripped and honed aesthetic of the world's finest aerospace grade titanium, that has been freshly minted into a genuine world first.

  • Internal seatpost binder
  • Super butted tube profiles
  • Asymmetric chainstays
  • Asymetric dropouts
  • Ultra machined BB, breather-holes and disc-mounts
  • Overall weight saving - 6-6 ounces (200 grams)
  • Legendary Seven ride, longevity and drive-chain stiffness

Seven XX Programme

XX at Seven

About the author

Philip Cavell, Co-founder

Co-founder, bike fitter and bike designer, author. Phil rides a Seven Axiom XX custom titanium bike and an Airnimal Joey folding bike. He wrote The Midlife Cyclist and enjoys walking his dog, reading, politics and the outdoors. Phil's specialism is working with clients who have complex and frequently chronic issues. Phil is most at home working in a collegiate, multi-disciplinary team, to help clients resolve intricate issues.

View other posts by Philip Cavell

Phil 3

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